Where do you keep bikes if you don't have a garage/storage shed?

[MommyAllison]

We just moved into a rental house that has no garage or storage shed. We do have a covered concrete patio and a large fenced yard, but the fencing is a thin wire that allows full view of the yard and patio and is only 4' tall. We have 4 kid bikes that we need to figure out how to store safely, and paranoid me is worried about theft and damage from weather (the bikes are a mix of Trek, Specialized and Strider). In our old house we had plenty of space to store them in the garage - so how do I store them now? Currently they are on the patio with a tarp thrown over them, but once we get unpacked and the kids start using them, that won't be the most practical option. Any suggestions are welcome, thanks!

[elliput]

Do you have space to put up something like this? Horizontal storage unit (http://www.lowes.com/ProductDisplay?partNumber=187365-50741-BMS2500&langId=-1&storeId=10151&productId=3651840&catalogId=10051&cmRelshp=req&rel=nofollow&cId=PDIO1)

[daniele_ut]

Ours don't fit in the garage and we don't have a shed so they are locked up at night on the covered back patio. It's not visible at all from the street.

[american_mama]

I have struggled with this for years. We do have a storage shed, but it's very hard to fit the bikes in, especially when the lawn mower is coming in and out all the time, always changing positions slightly. I like the concept of storing the bikes vertically, but then (I assume) they are too tall for the kids to get down or put up. I'm just under 5'3" and I wonder how easily I can wrangle down from a height. And my kids are getting older and the bikes are no longer small bikes.

The most helpful thing to us (won't help you since you don't have a shed, but might help someone else) was sorting through the shed. By getting rid of some stuff, straightening rakes/shovels, putting things on hooks that were already there, it became much easier for the bikes to fit. We need to investigate hooks. I've also looked at plastic sheds a bit like the one a previous poster linked to, but I need to take measurements to see what would fit. As I recall, the most promising sheds I saw were at Sam's Club and Sears (has a big line, including some that are like 4 feet tall but longer, so good for bikes). I've also wondered about having a shed custom built to fit the shape of 5 bikes, but that wouldn't be good if you are renting.